Hemeromyia alberichae, Stuke, 2016

Stuke, Jens-Hermann, 2016, Carnidae (Diptera) in the Canadian National Collection of Insects (Ottawa), with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 4084 (4) : -

Hemeromyia alberichae spec. nov.

(figures 1–7)

Holotype ♂: (1) "Willis Palms Oasis / Thousand Palms, / Cal. 23 iv. 1955 / W. R. Mason"; (2) "CNC / 9095"; (3) " Hemeromyia / sp 4 / Det. / J. F. McAlpine 1964"; (4) Holotype / Hemeromyia alberichae / spec. nov. ♂ / det. Stuke, 2015 ".

Holotype is deposited in the CNC. The specimen is glued to the needle and is in very good condition.

Paratypes: USA: 1♀, 2.v.1955, California, Desert Centre, on Palo Verde , leg. W. R. M. Mason ; 1♂, 18.iv.1955, California, Morongo Valley , leg. W. R. Richards ; 1♀, 9.iv.1955, California, Thermal , leg. W. R. M. Mason ; 2♀, 3.iv.1955, California, Thousand Palms , leg. W. R. Richards ; 1♀, 7.iv.1955, ditto ; 1♂, 30.iii.1955, California, Thousand Palms, 1000 Palms Oasis , leg. W. R. Richards ; 1♀, 10.iv.1955, California, Thousand Palms, Willis Palms Oasis , leg. W. R. Richards. 1 ♂ and 3 ♀ paratypes are deposited in the CNC and the other four paratypes are in the PJHS.

Description of holotype (male). Length about 1.6 mm. Wing length = 1.5 mm. Head height = 0.4 mm.

Head completely black. Antenna completely brown. Arista without pubescence. Eye without ommatrichia. Maximum eye length: maximum eye height = 0.8. Posteroventral margin of gena closest to eye margin: maximum eye height = 0.3. Frons shining, with fine longitudinal grooves. Frontal triangle distinct, reaching anteriorly about half distance from anterior ocellus to frontal margin There is no specimen available where the dusting of the face can be examined. Carina narrow. Postcranium slightly microtomentose. Prementum longer and wider than labellum. Palpus brown, shorter than half the length of haustellum. 1 pair of distinct ocellar setae. Supralunular setae convergent but not cruciate. 4 fronto-orbital setae, two anterior mesoclinate, two posterior lateroclinate. 2 vertical setae. Postorbital setae parallel. 1 strong vibrissal seta. 2 supravibrissal setae, the ventral one distinctly smaller. 1 strong and outstanding genal setae.

Scutum and scutellum shiny and covered with black setulae. Pleura faintly microtomentose throughout, subshining. Scutum with 4 dorsocentral setae. 1 long seta on postpronotum; 1 presutural seta; 2 notopleural setae; 1 supraalar seta; 2 postalar setae; prescutellar seta not evident; 1 apical and 1 lateral scutellar seta. 1 seta at posterior margin of anepisternum. 1 dorsal seta and 1 ventral seta on katepisternum. Wing completely covered with microtrichia. Costa without obvious setae beyond radial vein R1. Wing hyaline, veins light brown and white yellow basally. Knob of haltere whitish yellow, base of haltere light brown. Legs dark brown to black with tarsi orange brown but not obviously contrasting with the tibia. Fore femur with 4 strong posteroventral seta. Hind femur apically with 1 strong anteroventral seta. Fore and middle coxae each with a few strong setae. Dense setulae on ventral side of the basal hind tarsi yellow golden.

Abdominal pleura with few scattered setae on segments 3–5. Segments 1–4 narrow, width of tergite 3: length of tergite 3 = 4.5. Segment 5 as long as segment 4. Tergites 3–5 each with 1–2 short lateral setae at the posterior margin. Sternite 5 broad, with scattered setulae. Shape of tergites and sternites of the tip of the abdomen shown in figs. 2–3. The male postabdomen of the holotype is not macerated and the description of the postabdomen is based on two macerated paratypes. Epandrium with a few longer setae but no outstanding strong seta ( Fig. 4 ). Cercus indistinct, slightly protruding. Subepandrial sclerites distinctly sclerotised, elongated and fused indistinctly with each other at their tips and might be fused with less sclerotized hypoproct. Subepandrial sclerites without any setulae. Hypoproct slightly sclerotized, projecting out of the epandrium and may be easily confused with the cerci; with several minute setulae and 4 distinct long setae. Surstylus as Fig. 4 elongated, with a slightly smaller base and rounded apically. Surstylus with some minute setulae only. No lamella. Pregonite as Fig. 6 : slightly sclerotized and with scattered setulae. Postgonite as Fig. 6 : distinctly sclerotized and without distinctive structures. Distiphallus as Fig. 7 : elongated, about 5 times as long as the length of epandrium. Distiphallus with long setulae, an obvious, fingerlike, black appendage and apically a field of dense short black setae that can hardly be distinguished from each other. Basiphallus distinct sclerotized, with an obvious fingerlike appendix ( Fig. 5 ).

Variability. Wing length 1.3–1.7 mm. There can be 0–2 genal setae.

Diagnosis. With the most recent key for the Hemeromyia species by Deeming & Báez (1984) Hemeromyia alberichae will key out as Hemeromyia washingtona . The separation of Hemeromyia alberichae and Hemeromyia washingtona is described in the key below. The distiphallus with the fingerlike appendages and the field of dense black setae ( Fig. 7 ) might be an important character, but so far the postabdomen of Hemeromyia washingtona has not been described and is unknown to me. At least there is no published description of Hemeromyia available with a similar distiphallus.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Lateral view of aedeagus of Hemeromyia alberichae spec. nov. (♂ paratype, Morongo valley).

FIGURES 1 – 6. Hemeromyia alberichae spec. nov. 1. Lateral view of head (drawn from ♀ paratype, Thousand Palms). 2. Dorsal view of tip of abdomen (drawn from ♂ paratype, Morongo valley). 3. Ventral view of tip of abdomen (drawn from ♂ paratype, Morongo valley). 4. Lateral view of epandrium and surstylus (drawn from ♂ paratype, Morongo valley). 5. Lateral view of basiphallus (drawn from ♂ paratype, Morongo valley). 6. Lateral view of pregonite and postgonite (drawn from ♂ paratype, Morongo valley). ep—epandrium; hp—hypoproct; pog—postgonite; prg—pregonite; S 5 — sternite 5; su—surstylus; T 5 — tergite 5.